Business Articles Research

Burning Questions

Small business owners troubled by the national economy, real estate industry or any other aspect of their endeavors will have the opportunity to receive free consulting by local experts on Thursday, Sept. 24, at SpiritBank Business Resource Center’s interactive roundtable seminar, “What Keeps You Up At Night?”The seminar is part of the resource center’s Business Solutions Series, and the topics up for discussion are based on actual issues local small business owners submitted to the bank.“We wanted to get a good pulse of the issues small businesses are facing now and help them address some of those issues,” said Ted Cundiff, president of the SpiritBank Business Resource Center and metro markets as well as 2009 Tulsa Entrepreneurial Spirit Award judge. “With state of economy right now, if a small business owner needs help with sales efforts and other issues, they have a place to come and get those answers.”SpiritBank’s Business Resource Center utilizes a network of about 35 individuals and companies that are experts in various nonbanking aspects of small business.“(Within the Business Resource Center), we have HR consultants, accounting firms, legal firms, lien manufacturing experts, facilities people, technology, Web site, a wide variety of things business owners need not necessarily related to banking,” Cundiff said. “We want to plug (small business owners) into the assets they need to grow their businesses.”Using the issues presented to them by their clients, SpiritBank decided on five or six of the most common ones to present at the seminar. Cundiff said they’ve gathered various experts adept at those issues and will host multiple roundtable discussions at once.Participants may choose to sit in on just one or flock to each, asking questions and discussing strategies at one before moving on to the next. Some of the issues raised by the small business owners will likely include finance, marketing, human resources and sales, Cundiff said.He said the seminar’s ultimate goal is “supporting small business in the community.”The event, which is free and open to the public, begins at 4:30 p.m. at the SpiritTower Community Room at 1800 S. Baltimore Ave. To attend, RSVP to vsimmons@spiritbank.com or 295-7434.SpiritBank, a community bank based in Bristow, has branches statewide. Founded in 1916, the bank has assets exceeding $1.4 billion and more than 350 employees. ?